During prohibition, there were thousands of illegal runs across the Canadian border to Michigan. They brought whiskey into the United States, which was illegal because of the Volstead Act. While organized crime gets much of the credit, there were also average Americans that risked life and limb to bring in alcohol.
These average Americans dodged law enforcement, dealt with bad weather, long trips and boats that were "temperamental".
We reenact a route that crossed Lake Huron from Cockburn Island, Canada to Cheboygan, Michigan. In the 1920s, this run was done by a marina owner who borrowed a customer's boat.
Further Reading. . .
Prohibition in the Upper Peninsula - amzn.to/3oFjZEX (Lots of information)
Whisky and Ice: The Saga of Ben Kerr, Canada's Most Daring Rumrunner - amzn.to/34Aru85
Rocco Perri: The Story of Canada's Most Notorious Bootlegger - amzn.to/2Hvop0l
Rum Running and the Roaring Twenties: Prohibition on the Michigan-Ontario Waterway (Great Lakes Books Series) - amzn.to/31Mrobz
0:00 Introduction
1:50 Oral History Interview
5:10 Start of Reenacted Whiskey Run
6:38 Historic Boat House - End point of Run
8:08 Lake Huron
8:48 Detour Passage
11:10 The "Exchange"
12:48 Returning to Cheboygan
13:27 Rounding "Round Island"
13:56 Nightfall
15:20 Entering Cheboygan
18:25 The Whiskey Drop. . .